Union Catholic Students Attain National Recognition On 2010 Spanish Exam

SCOTCH PLAINS – Union Catholic High School announced that 34 students have attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2010 National Spanish Examination. The students earned a total of four gold, 10 silver and nine bronze medals along with 11 honorable mentions.

“Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the Nation Spanish Examination is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, national director of exams, “because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States.”

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Students from Union Catholic have a long history of high achievement on these exams and are taught by World Language Curriculum Specialist Cathy McHugh. The National Spanish Examinations are administered each year in grades 6 through 12, and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

Achieving Gold status are sophomores Yarelis Lafuente of Union, Rosa Cuppari of Kenilworth, Gabrielle Aquino of Rahway; and junior Alexandra Rojas of Union (Pictured left to right below).

The New Jersey chapter of the AATSP also recognizes students based on their achievement on this exam. Receiving honorable mentions from the NJAATSP are Gabrielle Aquino, Katie Brown, Rosa Cuppari, and Taylor Diken. Yarelis Lafuente was awarded second place for Level One and Alexandra Rojas was awarded second place in Level Three.